


Security Blanket

by GreyLiliy



Series: Life in Glass Houses [6]
Category: Transformers: Prime, Transformers: Shattered Glass
Genre: Gen, Original Character(s), Shattered Glass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-28
Updated: 2013-12-22
Packaged: 2017-12-30 17:26:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1021399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyLiliy/pseuds/GreyLiliy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bumblebee’s coping methods have much to be desired.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blueskyscribe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueskyscribe/gifts).



> Did a half RP thing with Lady M, and it was fun. And won’t leave my head. So I’m writing it into a fanfic to get it out of my head. So enjoy Fanfic for Fanfic based on a spur of the moment RP. :D

Bumblebee was lonely.

Most of the crew of the Heretic avoided him. Spool picked up near immediately that Bumblebee had little to no interest in Engineering, and so now he kept giving Bumblebee funny looks over his shoulder—no room for conversation there. Skyquake was out. Logically, Bumblebee should hang out with Knock Out. They were both from the same universe. It made sense.

But Knock Out spent all his time in the med-bay with Knockdown, Trauma and the twins. All of which were way too busy doing medical things to entertain a bored sports car.

Plus he was pretty sure that’s what they were doing with Knock Out.

Bumblebee shoved his face into the pillow of his berth. He missed Raf. He missed Smokescreen and Arcee and Bulkhead and Jack and Miko and Ratchet and Optimus. Bumblebee missed his team. He sighed and turned his face toward the door. Dwelling on this was unhealthy.

He rolled out of the berth and stretched. Bumblebee shook out his limbs and door-wings, and did a few quick fake jabs in the air. He should get out of his room. Move around.  Bumblebee nodded sagely to himself. A walk would do him some good. Maybe he’d get lost in the hallways and wander around until someone found him. That would kill some time.

Bumblebee stepped through the hallways, is wings drooped down and arms crossed. After about ten minutes of walking, things hadn’t improved. The echoing and empty corridors only made the situation worse. Plus, instead of aimlessly turning corners, training took over and Bumblebee started mapping. He was even pretty sure he could find his way back to his room in a hurry if he needed to.

Not that there’d be anyone there waiting to hurry back to.

The yellow sports car threw his hands up. He needed company. The scout tossed his head back to stare at the ceiling and rubbed the back of his helm. Bumblebee screeched softly in frustration, stomping down the hallway. He needed someone to talk to or he was going to completely lose his mind.

Bumblebee crashed into something.

“ _Oh! Sorry!”_ Bumblebee said, holding his hands out defensively. He looked around for the obstacle but didn’t see it—until he looked down near his feet.

“It’s okay,” A Citizen said from the floor. The poor guy rubbed the lower part of his back as he climbed to his feet. The Orange Citizen tilted his head, the light from above shining across his face-plate. His bright blue visor was an odd sight for Bumblebee, but it somehow looked more at home with the orange helm. The Citizens’ shoulders moved as he chuckled. “I wasn’t paying attention either.”

Bumblebee nodded, but then—a thought hit him.

He needed company. Here was company.

There were like a hundred of these guys on the ship.

Who’d notice if one went missing?

* * *

_::What? No, I haven’t seen him. He’s not here,::_  Knockdown said over his internal comm line, and rolling his optics at the angry voice on the other end. He turned over the flask he had been cleaning and scrubbed a spot on the other side. The voice kept yelling at him, and he sighed out a final, :: _But if I see him, I’ll let you know.::_

“What’s got that look on your face?” Knock Out asked, lazily cleaning a beaker of his own. He tossed the glass jar up and down in his palm as he leaned over the table. “I’d know the ‘Someone’s bothering me on the Comm’ face anywhere.”

Knockdown huffed, and Knock Out shrugged with a smile. The teal doctor shook his head, “A guard didn’t show up for his patrol shift, and Airachnid wanted to make sure he wasn’t here.”

“Never good to miss a post,” Knock Out chuckled. He licked his lips, and a mischievous smile fell on it. “Probably playing hooky.”

“That’s what I figure,” Knockdown said. “Even Citizens need a break sometimes.”

“Speaking of breaks,” Knock Out said. He waved the rag in the air, putting on his most innocent smile. Knockdown was starting to recognize it as the ‘I want something pretty please’ face. And it always worked. Knockdown was building up a tolerance, but it knocked the Twins and Trauma flat on their backs every time. Knock Out tapped the rag on the side of his cheek. “I was thinking on checking on dear little Bumblebee. He’s probably bored out of his mind since engineering couldn’t find a place for him.”

Knockdown narrowed his eyes, but Knock Out’s flirty smile sealed the deal. Knockdown threw his thumb over his shoulder, “Off with you.”

“Thank you!” Knock Out drawled out, tossing the rag on the counter. He was done cleaning as it was, so what did it hurt to disappear for a little bit? “See you later, Doc Knock.”

“Don’t get into trouble!” Knockdown called too late as the red car disappeared around the corner.

* * *

The red car skipped down the hallway, happy to be free of the stuffy lab. Knockdown had been in a foul mood for some reason, and it was downright stifling. Tormenting Bumblebee would be much more fun.

Approaching the Bug’s room, Knock Out helped himself to entering—he made sure to memorize the lock codes on Bumblebee’s room the second the ship gave them the ability to lock doors. Not that Bumblebee needed to know that.

“Hey there Bug, did you miss…” Knock Out’s grand entrance trailed off as he stared at the scene before him.

Bumblebee, half wrapped around one of the ship’s odd orange Vehicons—Citizens—whatever. Bumblebee hugged the struggling Vehicon tightly, almost as if they were in a lover’s embrace. The bug’s optics were wide as he stared at Knock Out. Bumblebee looked like a sparkling caught with his hand in the energon goodie jar, only the energon goodie was a drone and the cookie was petting it.

On the helm.

It’d be almost cute if the Vehicon wasn’t terrified out of it’s mind, shivering like a cat left out in the rain.

“ _I can explain,_ ” Bumblebee said, squeezing the Vehicon tighter to his chest.

“I bet you can,” Knock Out fought the smirk.

* * *

“I’m impressed you had the sense to disable his comm systems,” Knock Out said about twenty minutes later, still chuckling. The Vehicon was now on the floor in front of Bee’s berth, trapped between the scout’s legs. Bumblebee had his arms wrapped around the Vehicon’s shoulders from behind, and squeezed him like an oversized stuffed animal. “Very devious. I can’t tell you how proud it makes me.”

“ _Well, he, uh_ ,” Bumblebee huffed, trying to defend himself. It was downright adorable, and the poor bug screeched.  _“Stop laughing!”_

“Sorry, I’m just amused you snapped before I did,” Knock Out shrugged. Well, one of them was going to screw up before this trip was over, and Knock Out was just happy it was not only Bumblebee—but a problem that could be easily solved. He pointed at the vehicon. “You supposed to be on security detail?”

The terrified bot nodded his head.

“Thought so. Airachnid’s pretty angry you missed your shift,” Knock Out said. “But lucky for you, she won’t get to scold you. Because seriously, Bumblebee. What on earth were you thinking?”

“ _I wasn’t! Okay! Anyway, we’ve just been sitting here and talking.”_  Bumblebee said, still petting the back of the Vehicon’s head. “ _Nothing bad.”_

“Right,” Knock Out drawled out, optics flickering between the crazed bug and the scared Vehicon. He rested his chin on the tips of his fingers. “About what?”

“ _Stuff,_ ” Bumblebee said quickly. He squeezed the shivering wreck closer to his chest, and avoided looking Knock Out in the optics. “ _Nothing important._ ”

“Translation: You snapped and told him everything, didn’t you?” Knock Out rubbed between his optics and shook his head. Poor child Autobot. He should have known the kid couldn’t handle so much lying. “Am I right?”

 _“No,”_ Bumblebee said, even though Knock Out clearly read the “Yes” that came out of his facial expression.

“You’re a horrible liar,” Knock Out said. “But that’s okay.”

Bumblebee lifted an eyebrow. “It is?”

“Yes! You got it all out of your system, which was very therapeutic, I’ll bet,” Knock Out said. He swapped his hand out for the buzz saw and revved the engine once. It whirled loudly in the background as he skipped a few steps toward the cowering Vehicon. This was going to be such fun! “And I’ve been desperate for a little stress relief. Best of both worlds.”

“ _Hey! What are you doing with that!_ ” Bumblebee shouted, ripping the Vehicon off the floor like a rag doll and clinging to him on the berth. Bumblebee shielded the useless thing with his body and shouted, “ _Put that away!”_

“Oh Primus! Don’t kill me!” The vehicon yelped throwing his hands up over his face.

“Bumblebee, now I know you miss your little pets, but this one can report us to security. Then we’ll both be in the brig, or worse. Do you want that?” Knock Out reasoned. He stood straight and treated Bumblebee like he would a real child. He was acting like it, so Knock Out would treat him that way. “So put him the cute little drone down, I’ll chop him up, and then we’ll dispose of him in a bin somewhere.”

“WHAT!?” The vehicon shrieked, and tried to climb out of Bumblebee’s protective grip. The idiot. The terrified ‘con yelled, “What is wrong with you!?”

“Shush, no one is talking to you,” Knock Out said. “Bumblebee, put him down. You can find another one you haven’t told all our secrets. There’s a million of them.”

“ _No! They’re all different and this one’s mine!_ ” Bumblebee said. He dragged the Vehicon tight to his chest, to the point that metal nearly bent. “ _You can’t have him, and you’re certainly not cutting him apart!_ ”

“Bumblebee,” Knock Out said, “What’s his name?”

“ _His name is! It’s,_ ” Bumblebee said. Mechanical eyes glanced at the wall and then at the bot in his arms.

“You don’t know, do you?” Knock Out said, revving the buzz saw again. “He’s a number. Canon fodder. Let me cut him up for you and solve all your little problems.”

“ _No!_ ” Bumblebee said. He flipped the mech around in his arms, and grabbed him by the shoulders. Bumblebee asked with all urgency:  “ _Quick! What’s your name?_ ”

“B-b-backfire!” The little vehicon said. “And I really don’t want to die!”

“No one  _wants_  to die,” Knock Out said shaking his head and laughing. “But you’re going to anyway, and that is a horrible name. What idiot named you after that? Backfire is a rather nasty medical condition. I’m doing you a favor by putting you out of your misery.”

“ _Knock Out, back away from him!_ ” Bumblebee said. “ _And Backfire is an okay name. He’s Backfire. I know who he is now, and he doesn’t have to_ die _. We can just keep him here in my room._ ”

“To just be  _found_?” Knock Out said. Throwing his arms out. “What? You want me to cut him into pieces so you can hide him in a trunk? Don’t be silly. Put the toy down. We’ll get you another one.”

“ _He’s not a toy._ ”

“He is.”

“I’m not a toy!” Backfire yelled. “And you two are insane!”

“ _Wanting company doesn’t make me insane_!” Bumblebee yelled. “ _Just be quiet for a sec. Knock Out’s not going to cut you, and we’ll figure something out.”_

“Yes, I’m going to kill him to make up for all the stress you are currently causing me, I’m going to take the parts I want since a certain wasteful doctor keeps throwing them overboard, and then we’re going to have a chat about proper coping methods for loneliness,” Knock Out said. “Any questions?”

“Can I leave?” Backfire asked.

“ _No_ ,” Bumblebee and Knock Out answered in unison.

“Now then,” Knock Out said, revving his saw again. He did so love that sound when it was used appropriately. “You just let me do my job.”

“ _Back off, Knock Out!_ ” Bumblebee yells, kicking his foot out at the red Decepticon. “ _Don’t touch him!_ ”

“Stop being stubborn! This has to happen!”

“Frag me,” Backfire sobbed as the two started to bicker over top of him, flinching every so often as the wayward saw buzzed near his head.

* * *

Trauma sighed deeply, trudging his feet down the hallway. He rubbed the back of his neck, and flicked his wings gently as he headed for his destination. 

Bumblebee missed his appointment.

From what Trauma had experienced so far from his patients, when one missed their appointment—it meant that they were regressing. Having doubts about treatment, or angry, or feeling depressed, or some other emotion that guaranteed a special session and some private counseling. Trauma didn’t usually mind, but he was hoping to break more ground with Bumblebee before hitting this stage!

Trauma stopped in front of Bumblebee’s door and nodded. He could do this. He would—A loud buzzing came from behind Bumblebee’s door. Followed by a screech of metal and—Knock Out shouting!?

Trauma, in an odd disregard for privacy, overrode the lock on the door using his medical access and threw himself into the room.

Knock Out was cursing up a storm, his buzz saw hand trapped in the wall. He tried to pull it loose, bracing his foot on the wall. That was odd in and of itself, but to the flashy red mechs’ left on the berth was Bumblebee laughing, while holding a—

“Backfire!” Trauma shouted, staring at the citizen trapped in Bumblebee’s grip. The yellow clone had his arms locked around Backfire’s waist, trapping the poor Citizen’s arms to his side. Bumblebee held Backfire to his chest like someone trying to keep their toy from being taken. “What is going on in here!?”

Bumblebee’s laugh cut off with a shriek of his broken vocalizer, and Knock Out gaped.

“Oh thank, Primus!” Backfire shouted. “Trauma! Help me! They’re crazy!”

Trauma pingged Knockdown.

He wasn’t handling this alone.

* * *

“So, I just had a lovely conversation with Backfire,” Knockdown said, pacing back and forth.

The CMO had sequestered everyone involved with the incident into his office. Trauma was on the back wall taking notes. Bumblebee sat looking properly chastised, hands folded in his laps, shoulders forward, and door-wings flat against his back.  Knock Out was examining his nails, with one leg crossed over the other.

Backfire on the other hand, was sitting in the back room of the main medical bay trying not to hyperventilate over the mutilated Citizen parts, curtesy of Knock Out that Knockdown forgot were there. But Backfire stayed put, because Knockdown wasn’t quite ready to turn his patients into security just yet.

Knockdown crossed his arms, “Bumblebee.”

“ _Yes?_ ” He said, in a quiet chirp.

“Backfire has informed me of the situation.”

 _“Did he?”_  Bumblebee asked, curling in on himself.

“Yes, and I’ll tell you exactly what he told me,” Knockdown said. “He said that you two bumped into each other, and you asked him to your room.”

Bumblebee nodded, Knockdown snorted, and Trauma scribbled furiously.

“He refused, as he had a shift to get to, and said maybe another time,” Knockdown said. Bumblebee flinched, and he continued. “You decided this answer wasn’t adequate, and he remembers being knocked out by a particularly skillful takedown maneuver. He woke in your room, with you apologizing. He was going to give you a pass, the clone thing, but then he realized you had disconnected all his comm equipment and weapons.”

Knock Out whistled in appreciation.

Knockdown glared at the red sports car, and cleared his vocalizer. “Then you got, ‘weird,’ as he put it. You started making up this huge story about how you were from another universe, and that there the Autobots were good and the Decepticons were evil. Followed by tales of how lonely you are and you just want someone to talk to who isn’t Knock Out.”

It was at this point, that Trauma’s scribbling in his note pad intensified to the point that Knockdown realized Bumblebee was going to have an amazing therapy session tomorrow. Or possible tonight. He wanted to touch on Bumblebee’s developing delusions and justifications for the mark on his waist sooner than later. 

“And then we get to you,” Knockdown said, turning to the red car. “You stumbled upon the two of them, and proceeded to discuss killing Backfire to keep Bumblebee from getting into trouble.”

“Moment of weakness,” Knock Out said, attempting to smile sheepishly.

“While I know it’s hard to fight built-in programming, I’m going to ask you to work harder to control your urges to solve all your problems by cutting things apart,” Knockdown said. “Second, next time Bumblebee is in trouble, you can come to me. Also, you’re having double sessions with Trauma until you can either trust me with your problems, or you learn to behave yourself.”

“Brilliant,” Knock Out said, sliding down in his seat. “Just what I needed.”

“Bumblebee,” Knockdown said. “You’re the same. Double sessions.”

“ _Can’t I just get sent to the brig?”_  Bumblebee sighed and rolled his optics to the side. He muttered to himself, “ _This is so embarrassing.”_

“Then don’t kidnap Citizens and you won’t be embarrassed,” Knockdown said. “Any comments, Trauma?”

“No Sir!”

“Good,” Knockdown clapped his hands together. “Now that we’ve got that settled, no one speaks a word of this to anyone else outside of this office. Ever.”

“Can do,” Knock Out said. “No complaints with keeping this between us.”

“ _Same here,”_  Bumblebee said. “ _But um, can I apologize to Backfire? I sort of…freaked out on him and I feel bad.”_

“I think that would be alright,” Knockdown said. He hesitated for a moment, thinking of the traumatized Citizen. “Tomorrow. Leave him be at the moment.”

The door bust open and Backfire came in. He walked over and sat in the corner.

“Backfire?” Trauma asked, holding his pad in front of him. “Are you okay?”

“You made me sit in a room full of dissected corpses,” Backfire said. “I couldn’t take it.”

“Oh, sorry,” Knockdown said. “You don’t have to worry. Knock Out promised he wouldn’t do that anymore.”

“Which is why he was threatening to do that to me like an hour ago!?”

“No, I was threatening to murder you for stress relief an hour ago,” Knock Out huffed. “Those were the result of a very practical scavenging of dead bodies.”

“ _You’re really twisted, Knock Out,_ ” Bumblebee said. He scooted his chair an inch away from Knock Out.

“Says the one who kidnapped a Vehicon as a pet,” Knock Out snorted. “Pot calling kettle black, Bug.”

“ _Oh please! You’re way worse than me!”_

As the two proceeded to bicker, Knockdown covered his optics with his hands and groaned. This was his staff. His staff. He would keep them from getting worse and he would fix it.

Trauma counseled Backfire in the background, and Knockdown repeated : “This’ll get fixed,” in his head.

* * *

Two weeks later, Bumblebee had kidnapped Backfire again, and Knockdown was making excuses to Airachnid of why that one Citizen kept missing his shift.

He wasn’t going to ask Knock Out where the dog collar and leash had come from, either.

He didn’t want to know.

He  _really_ didn’t want to know.

So he made Trauma find out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like adding another chapter. Backfire's adorable. XD

Backfire stretched his arms over his head and shook out his wings and limbs. Security detail ran long on him, and this was one Citizen who was more than fitting the definition of the word exhausted.He was looking forward to crashing in his hab-suite.

“Airachnid was a monster today, wasn’t she?” Humming said, rubbing the back of his neck joint. He shook his head and whined as much as he could. “What was her deal?”

“I don’t know,” Backfire said, turning the corner. He tapped the edge of his chin and thought back on the screaming commander. “Wasn’t it something about Knock Out?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Humming said. He pushed Backfire’s arm and laughed. “That little car causes trouble everywhere he goes.”

“Yeah,” Backfire said. He rubbed his shoulder, and tried not to think too much about the crazy red car with the spinning saw blades of doom. ‘Trouble’ was putting it too lightly when it came to that lunatic. “Best to just wait it out. She can’t be in a bad mood forever.”

“Tell her that,” Humming said. “Oh, well.”

“Hey, Disease!” Drillhammer called from behind. Backfire growled on the inside as he approached. _That wasn’t his name!_ Drillhammer put his hand up over his visor and looked around. “Don’t see your little master anywhere? Bumblebee get tired of kidnapping you?”

“He stopped that,” Backfire said. He didn’t turn around, and kept walking. He hoped Humming took the same hint and didn’t acknowledge him. “And it’s not nice to make fun of people working through mental issues. You’d have a few yourself if you had to live with the Autobots for that long.”

“Yeah well, you’re the one who humored him, aren’t you, Disease?” Drillhammer laughed. He pulled on Backfire’s wing, chuckling into the back of his neck. “At least you two match. An illness is just perfect for a guy sick in the head!”

Backfire refused to answer and yanked his wing out of Drillhammer’s grip. He grabbed Humming’s arm, and walked faster until he put some distance between him and his fellow “Citizen.” He could still hear Drillhammer laughing in the background at him, and flicked his wings angrily. _What was his deal?_

“Don’t let him get to you,” Humming said, rubbing Backfire’s arm. “He’s a jerk.” 

“Yeah,” Backfire said. “Just a jerk.” 

* * *

In truth, Bumblebee hadn’t kidnapped Backfire in about three weeks. After the second attempt—that Backfire later found out Knock Out had encouraged—Bumblebee and Trauma had some serious one-on-one time in a super long session. The end result was Bumblebee was forbidden to have contact with Backfire without supervision by Trauma or Knockdown, and even then he was limited to once a week to say hello and make sure he didn’t have the desire to grab Backfire and run.

 To make things simple, Bumblebee stayed away completely and forfeit his supervised visits entirely. Backfire should have been happy about it. 

It was in his best interest. Being known as Bumblebee’s little “Pet” was embarrassing. Backfire fell back on his bunk, and ignored the box under his bed with Knock Out’s little “joke” and stared at the ceiling. The last time he’d been kidnapped, the red car had gotten him a collar and leash. It wasn’t just his peers that were teasing him about it.

“You’re Bumblebee’s new little pet, so you should have a little collar to go with it,” Knock Out had said. He held up the red leash and leather collar in the air. “Isn’t it cute?”

Backfire had smacked it away, more insulted than he’d ever been in his life, but Knock out was persistent. He was still trying to hook the collar around his neck when Knockdown found them bickering in Bumblebee’s hab-suite

Trauma asked him what it was about the next day, and that was when the little Autobot Clone’s “Stay away from Backfire” punishment began.

Backfire should have been happy about it.

But he wasn’t. 

* * *

Backfire was in the mess hall with Humming, happy that his shift was over. Airachnid was still on the warpath, and they had confirmed Knock Out and Knockdown were the source. He did not want to know what had happened, but everyone was affected. Thankfully, the mess hall was a safe zone and the orange swarm of Citizens chatted happily, this way and that.  

Not an officer or medic was in sight. 

Which made Bumblebee stick out all the more when he walked into the room. He got quite a few looks, but he ignored them and instead focused on scanning the crowd. Backfire stayed still, and froze when their optics met. Bumblebee’s wings perked up and he made a straight line for Backfire.

“Hey, Backfire,” Bumblebee said, stopping right next to Backfire. He rubbed his thumb nervously, and his wings twitched. “Um, I know I’m not supposed to see you, but since there’s so many people here I figured it’d be okay to finally apologize because I know it’s been like a month, but it’s still really bothering me.”

Bumblebee shouldn’t be here. He really shouldn’t. But…Backfire was still sort of stunned that Bumblebee had picked Backfire out of the crowd so quickly. The little stickers most other mechs used to tell the Citizens apart weren’t visible from that distance. So how did he?

“Apologize for what?” Backfire asked, after he gathered himself.

“The other day. Well, the other day a few weeks ago. I mean, I’m sorry for what I did,” Bumblebee said, fumbling with his hands. His wings flicked, and he just looked so _young_ that it moved Backfire’s spark. These little guy really were kids, weren’t they? “But, what Knock Out did with the you-know-what was completely uncalled for. And I wanted to apologize.”

“Okay,” Backfire said. He tilted his helm to the side and pat Bumblebee’s arm. “It’s okay. All forgiven.”

“Oh, good,” Bumblebee said. His optics looked around for a bit, and he noticed all of the mechs in the room staring at them. He straightened up, and waved. “Uh, I’ll leave you alone now.”

He left the room in a rush, and disappeared down the hallway.

“Those clones are so weird,” Humming said.

Backfire nodded slowly. 

* * *

_“No! They’re all different and this one’s mine!”_

Backfire remembered Bumblebee saying the words somewhere behind all the panic of wanting to avoid death, but he hadn’t thought much on them. Backfire just assumed that Bumblebee was saying things to keep Knock Out away.

But then in the mess hall. Backfire had to know.

“Bumblebee?” Backfire asked, tapping the little clone on the shoulder. The black and yellow mech looked away from the observatory window from his seat on the little bench. Backfire rubbed his fingers together. “Are you busy?”

“Not really,” Bumblebee said. He glanced around behind Backfire and then out the window. He held his hands together, and he looked a little concerned. “Are you alone?”

“Yeah, but I wanted to ask you something,” Backfire said. He held his hands up and waved them back in forth. “Don’t worry, though. I won’t tell Trauma.”

“Okay,” Bumblebee said, his shoulders dropping an inch. “What’s on your mind?”

“How’d you know it was me when you came into the mess hall?” Backfire asked without beating around the bush. “You recognized me immediately.”

Bumblebee’s optics narrowed together and he tilted his head. “What do you mean? I saw you, and I walked over.”

“No,” Backfire stopped and rubbed his neck. He asked again, “How’d you recognize me? I mean. We all look the same from that distance, but you spotted me almost immediately from the door.”

“Because I saw you?” Bumblebee answered, confusion clearly in his voice. He shook his head. “I don’t understand the question.”

Backfire flicked his own wings heavily, and twisted his fingers. He gestured at himself and waved his hand up and down. “I look just like everyone else in the room! How’d you know which one was me? How’d you tell us apart? None of the other officers can do that until they hear us talk, or look for the stickers!”

“Your chest-piece is different,” Bumblebee said, as if the answer was as obvious as Optimus Prime being the ultimate evil born straight from the Pit. He tapped Backfire’s Decepticon logo, dead center in the metal. “Not by much, but the armor coming off your shoulders that covers it is slimmer.”

Backfire glanced down and touching the odd shaped metal. Other Citizens noticed he was using an old chassis design, due to a lack of parts, but the non-Citizen mechs? Never. Backfire stared down at the little yellow bot. “You noticed that?”

Bumblebee shrugged. “Yes?”

“Oh, okay,” Backfire took a step back and waved. He vented heavily, and it was too stuffy in here. Backfire shook his head. He needed more air. Or to be alone. Backfire walked away as he said, “That answers my question. Thanks.”

“Bye,” Bumblebee said, wings dropping flat against his back. He waved and turned back to his original position watching the fish through the glass.

Backfire touched the side of his chest, and stared at the clone watching the water. 

He looked lonely.

* * *

Another two weeks had past since Backfire had seen Bumblebee face to face-plate. Backfire had spotted the little clone with Knock Out, or sitting down in the viewing room, but for the most part they’d kept their distance.

He knew it wasn’t healthy to be around Bumblebee. The little clone had attachment issues, and Backfire was a temptation for bad behavior. Trauma had explained it at least twice with words too big for Backfire to really pay attention to. Bumblebee needed to cope with different methods. That was just how it was. 

But, after all this time, all Backfire had noticed that even after all this time, nothing had changed: Bumblebee was still lonely. Backfire’s problems were solved but the Clone’s weren’t. No, that wasn’t even right. Backfire had an entirely new set of problems: He missed Bumblebee.

Backfire had liked the attention. He liked that the yellow and black clone could recognize him on sight. He liked that Bumblebee wanted to talk to him. Backfire almost missed getting kidnapped, and he probably should schedule an appointment with Trauma about that—but he didn’t want to.

Backfire held the small box he’d dragged out from under the bed and looked up at the mirror.

He opened it and pulled out the black leather collar, with the big silver buckle. Backfire flipped open the latch and put it around his neck. He snapped it in place, pulling it tight, and tucking in the extra belt at the end under a loop. Backfire pulled the buckle around so that it sat a little off center, and puffed up his chest and held his wings up proudly.

This was way better than any sticker.

* * *

“Hey Disease!” Drillhammer shouted. He strut up to Backfire and tugged hard on the edge of his collar. “What’s with this?”

“It’s mine,” Backfire said. He slapped his hand away and poked at the giant flower sticker on the side of his face. “Just like that’s yours.”

“No, mine’s a sticker,” Drillhammer said. His visor glowed as he glared. “That is a collar. What are you? A pet?”

Backfire growled. “Why you—“

Bumblebee walked by with Knock Out to their left, and Backfire stopped. He perked up and looked at Drillhammer. He pulled the red leash out of subspace and snapped the end to his collar.

“You know what?” Backfire leaned over and flicked Drillhammer in the top of his helm. “Yes. I am. I’m Bumblebee’s cute little pet. You jealous?”

Drillhammer stared at Backfire like he was crazy. 

And that was a-okay.

“Bumblebee! Wait up!” Backfire shouted, tapping after the small clone and his lunatic friend.

The little clone turned and stared, optics wide at the collar and bright red leash. Backfire chuckled and grabbed Bumblebee’s hand. He shoved the end of the leash in Bumblebee’s hand and nodded contently when Bumblebee kept holding it.

Better to be a pet with someone who knows you, than alone in a crowd, right?

Besides. No one deserved to be lonely.


End file.
